Wireless technology standards, such as 3rd Generation, 4th Generation and 5th Generation standards, adopt new technologies, add new features, and increase data rates much faster than actual hardware developments and deployments. As a result, the capacity of a NodeB (or base station) platform (e.g., a hardware board such as a modem board) fills up quickly. This reduces the life cycle of a platform, which then requires more frequent development of new platforms. However, developing new platforms not only increases costs, but may delay product delivery time.
5TH Generation wireless systems are the next evolution in the wireless communication industry. Such systems may integrate 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Generation components, as well as WiFi, to form a global networking system. 5th Generation systems may have data rates more than 10-100 faster than today's data rates, and may connect a broader range of devices to serve the internet of things. 5th Generation systems also implement new technologies and add new features relative to conventional 2nd, 3rd and 4th Generation technologies.
Conventionally, L1/L2 processing boards (also sometimes referred to as modem boards) at a NodeB utilize a single-board architecture (SBA). In this conventional architecture, each board is connected to all radio-frequency (RF) antennas, and performs both L2 scheduling and L1 processing for all cells in the NodeBs coverage area. As a result, all standard features are implemented on each board. This “one board for all” solution shortens the life cycle of the boards and limits the ability for additional features (e.g., new 5th Generation features) to be added to existing boards.